


Stepwork

by elsa



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, First Kiss, M/M, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-22
Updated: 2016-11-22
Packaged: 2018-09-01 13:12:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8625748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elsa/pseuds/elsa
Summary: Victor had a glamorous skating style, and Chris always liked watching him. But at China Cup, Victor wasn't on the ice anymore. He was standing against the rink, wearing an infuriatingly perfectly pressed suit, and he apparently couldn't take his eyes off a boy named Yuri Katsuki.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written after Episode 7, not compliant with canon after that.

"That Russian kid Yuri Plisetsky is spitting mad," one of the junior Swiss skaters said over practice one day, texting furiously. "Says Victor Nikiforov temporarily lost his mind over a Youtube video of a fat kid trying to skate his program and now he's taking tourist photos from Japan."

"What, really? Oh, god, that's funny," Chris said, but the rumor turned out to be true a few days later.

"Did you hear--? I can't believe Victor took the season off to coach."

TO COACH LITERALLY THE 11TH BEST SKATER IN JAPAN, Yuri Plisetsky texted. 

"Are you sure he doesn't just want an excuse to take a break?"

"He'll want to go back to skating right away."

"Chris, when you go to the China Cup, let us know how Victor misses being the center of attention." 

One of the female skaters: "How is that preening ditzball going to coach?"

Victor had a glamorous skating style, and Chris always liked watching him. But at China Cup, Victor wasn't on the ice anymore. He was standing against the rink, wearing an infuriatingly perfectly pressed suit, and he apparently couldn't take his eyes off a boy named Yuri Katsuki. 

The general impression among their set was that Yuri was shy and unpreposessing in person, and Yuri didn't impress Chris last year at the Grand Prix at all, but this year on the ice it turned out that, when he wasn't falling over, that shy boy really could skate. 

When Chris arrived back home, the skaters who didn't go were chatting about the China Cup. One of the ice dance figure skaters on the team was playing a rerun in the break room while stretching. 

"I had to go before watching the second part, so I'm catching up," he explained as Chris sat next to him to warm up. 

Yuri's free skate program was on. 

"He's pretty cute, isn't he? I didn't know that Japanese kid was cute," the other skater said, still watching the screen. 

* * *

One of his teammates was competing in the Russia GP qualifier and had extra tickets, so Chris came along to watch, since he was never too serious this time of the season. He began to regret it. He kept running into Victor hugging Yuri, helping him stretch, applying chapstick on him -- 

"Do you think that was maybe..." he began to Victor, after Yuri had been hugged so hard before a program that he squeaked. Yuri skated away but began gazing at Victor breathlessly across the room. 

"What?" asked Victor. 

"Never mind," said Chris. 

With Yuri's slim, compact looks, it was easy to think that he was younger and less experienced than he was, a naive and shy ingenue. 

"Man, look at that quad jump! Was Katsuki able to do that last year?" one of the girls sat up straight next to him and looked on, wide-eyed. 

After the practice, Chris said, "Those were some nice jumps, Yuri... You're in really good shape now."

"Oh. Thanks, Chris." Yuri nearly leapt out of his skin as Chris smiled at him. Chris just laughed. Chris had gotten too used to competing against Victor's conspicuous, camera-ready glamour, his easy confidence that he was the best and best looking skater in the room. Yuri was so shy and endearingly awkward on land, like a duck out of water. He got embarrassed easily; he didn't like cameras. You didn't know you were looking at something special until his skates touched the ice. 

They had both arrived a few days early, and skaters were taking advantage of the open rink to practice before the program started. Late at night, when the rink was almost deserted, when no one was looking and Yuri wasn't self conscious about it, was when Chris liked watching him the best. 

Back in the viewing room, Yuri looked up at Chris. "I actually never really landed those jumps that many times in competition before," he admitted, "so I still need to practice it."

"Oh, it was just bad luck," Chris said. Victor was outside, talking to some Russian skaters; he could see them through the window. Otherwise, they were alone in the room. "You know," Chris said, feeling emboldened, "Victor is a bit of a showboat. You were good before he became your coach. Do you need help with that stretch?" 

"Oh, um..." 

"Here, why don't I hold this for you." Yuri lay on his back and closed his eyes as Chris pressed on his thigh and helped him stretch out his hamstrings.

"You seem a bit stiff here." 

"I guess I worked too much yesterday." 

Chris put his hands on Yuri's knee and inside thigh in a careful massage. "Is this better?" 

"Mmm." Yuri opened his eyes and smiled up at him. "That feels nice." 

Oh, god, this was too easy. Chris looked down, and he was pretty sure what he was thinking was on his face. He thought: perhaps I could say... 

That was when Victor banged the door open and said, "Yuri, I need you to come back downstairs." He stood there pointedly as Yuri said, "alright," with an apologetic grateful look to Chris, and got up. In the doorway, Victor put his arm around Yuri's waist and said something in his ear, and Chris could hear Yuri respond, "N-no, we were just talking." 

When Victor sat next to him in the spectator stands later that afternoon, he said without preamble, "I just think that Yuri gets distracted easily, so..."

"Mm, that's fair," Chris said. 

"Oh, I'm glad," said Victor.

Chris went home and told the other skaters.

"So Victor basically threatened to kill you if you touched Yuri?" 

"I know." 

Soon word got around that Yuri was off limits. This threat would have been more convincing and less infuriating had Victor not been snapshotted lavishly sleeping on top of Yuri in airport lounges, hugging him shirtless in restaurants, clinging to him rinkside while whispering things in his ear, and jumping onto him ecstatically in full view of high definition video cameras after particularly good performances during competition. 

* * *

At this point everyone had stopped talking about how Yuri Katsuki was a fallen skater who had had his last season. They were all starting to think that he had a serious chance to medal at the Grand Prix final. Chris watched Yuri's innocent, astonished, blushy surprise after his free program, as if he couldn't believe this was really happening. Yuri wasn't looking at the lights or the judges or the scores or the audience, though. He was looking at Victor. 

* * *

Chris liked to take it easy, but he was careful the next few weeks at practice. He had qualified for the final, and spent his time conscientiously, doing jumps and working out his programs. 

When Chris arrived at the ice skating rink the day before the Grand Prix final, Victor was already in the lobby, surrounded by press and smiling and winking at the camera as if he was the one competing. Victor saw him and moved away. 

"Chris! I haven't seen you in a while. How have you been?" He fell in line with Chris and began chatting easily: about the familiar rink, the crowds, how he'd missed being in Japan already, congratulating Chris on his recent win. 

"Yuri's just practicing on the ice now." They walked out onto the stands and then Chris saw Yuri -- a petite, dark figure on the ice, dressed casually in a sweatshirt and athletic pants that showed his lean figure. He looked good. Chris felt the frisson of danger, the this-is-it beat. When he spoke, though, his voice sounded neutral. 

"So do you think you're going to coach when this is all over, or are you going back to skating?"

"Oh, even if it's over, there's still Nationals."

"You have to be careful," Chris found himself saying. "You're not going to get to coach anyone else like Yuri after this." 

There was a short silence. 

Was it possible he didn't know? Chris added carefully, "It's pretty obvious that that kid would do anything, he'd go anywhere for you." 

Victor waved his hand. "Don't be silly. He didn't even want to go to the pool with me yesterday."

"What -- Why are you trying to get him to go to the pool with you right before competition?" Chris asked.

Victor looked shifty. 

"He gets stressed, huh?" Chris said slowly. 

"He's pretty nervous sometimes. I just don't understand it." Victor sighed and stretched and put his face in his hands. "I'm don't know what to do, honestly," he admitted. "You've never had this problem before, have you? What do you think is the best thing to do to relax someone and put them in a good mood?"

"Um," said Chris.

Well, there was the obvious thing, he thought, but he didn't say anything because Victor really didn't need any more encouragement. 

The silence stretched between them. Chris risked a quick glance sideways. The tips of Victor's ears were slightly pink. That was impressive, he thought. It usually took a lot to faze Victor. 

"Right, I forgot who I was talking to," said Victor. 

* * *

Chris had to look away at the end of Yuri's stunning, insanely risky, world record-beating Grand Prix performance. He wasn't even angry, just amazed. He was pleased with his own free skate performance, but for Yuri's it was like someone had advanced the entire sport just a bit further, and Chris knew why he did it. He needed a cool drink of water. He needed--

"Oh my god, oh my god." 

"Did you see it?"

"Did you see them kiss?" 

"What?" His thoughts came slowly and in confusion. "What, just after the free skate?" 

"Yes, after the free skate!" 

"Are you sure they didn't just hug?" Chris asked.

"Yes," one of the skaters said grimly. 

There was an instant replay: Yuri, ecstatic, jumping into Victor's arms and kissing him, in 1080p on national television. They could get the tapes and replay it afterwards. Victor had looked gobsmacked and comically surprised, and the expression on his face was priceless. The crowd was screaming and Yuri had that look, that look that said that he wanted to conquer the world and that he thought he could do it. 

"Oh my god, turn off the TV, I'm going over," Chris said, and he found himself smiling and laughing, all the way down the stairs. 


End file.
